A Critical Reflection on the Right to the Truth about Gross Human Rights Violations

The right to the truth about gross human rights violations is gradually becoming more firmly entrenched in international human rights law. However, the content and contours of the right to the truth are not without controversy. Some of the most pressing issues that have arisen are the extent of society's right to the truth, the scope of the truth that it pursues (fact-finding or broader historical truth) and the relationship between truth seeking and official acknowledgment. This article turns to multidisciplinary research about truth seeking and memory with regard to gross human rights violations, which provides rich insights into the role of truth in the aftermath of mass atrocities that can shed light on the possible implications of the right to the truth. It thus provides a critical reflection on the right to the truth, in order to consider how it could perform a valuable function.